Firefighter Fitness, Coronary Heart Disease, and Sudden Cardiac Death Risk

OBJECTIVE: To determine the roles physical fitness, coronary heart disease, and sudden cardiac death risk play in firefighter culture, via an emic (insider's) perspective within the culture of the fire service. METHODS: Key informant interviews and focus group discussions with full-time, acculturated firefighters, framed within a social ecological framework. RESULTS: Physical fitness is a complex, cultural construct, based on functional capacity and management normative expectations. Coronary heart disease is not a culturally relevant reason for workplace fitness program adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Fitness interventions must culturally adapt to the unique nature of the fire service, emphasizing functional capacity, crew dependability, and fitness/well-being strategies.